Sports

By Derek Levarse dlevarse@timesleader.com
Sports Reporter
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There is no record to chase. Sean Lee won’t be touching the numbers that his former teammates Dan Connor and Paul Posluszny put up.

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Penn State’s Sean Lee will likely finish fourth all-time in career tackles for the Nittany Lions, trailing former teammates Dan Connor and Paul Posluszny and Greg Buttle. He currently sits fifth on the list with 288.

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Instead, the linebacker is trying to match his counterparts in the championship category.

While Lee played a role on the 2005 team, working his way onto special teams as a true freshman, Posluszny and Connor were starters on that Big Ten title team.

And though Lee was technically a captain on last season’s Big Ten championship squad, a torn ACL kept him stuck on the sideline with a headset instead of a helmet.

Heading into Saturday’s showdown with Ohio State, Lee knows his time to make a lasting impact at Penn State is running short.

“I’ve been trying not to think about it,” the senior from Pittsburgh said this week. “I’ve been concentrating on this week and the game planning, and practicing hard. I just worry about practicing well going into each game. I haven’t looked ahead from that.”

Taking that approach to things has helped Lee just to stay sane. After missing all 13 games in 2008, he was forced to take a seat for three games this season with a ligament sprain in his other knee.

Penn State’s only loss this season came during the stretch, though Lee hasn’t beaten himself up over that Iowa game as he wouldn’t have been on the field when the Hawkeyes blocked the punt that turned everything around.

But the injuries have worn on him, to be sure.

“It’s frustrating,” Lee said during his midseason rehab. “This wasn’t how I expected my senior season to go at all.”

Lee returned to the field on Oct. 17 against Minnesota, but did not start, stuck instead in the Nittany Lions’ nickel package, where he stayed for two weeks.

He returned to his familiar starting position on the outside last week against Northwestern and looks to be back to his normal workload while preparing for Ohio State.

Against the Wildcats, Lee led all defenders with 12 tackles, including 10 solo stops.

“I thought he did well and he seems to not to have had any after-effect (from the injury),” coach Joe Paterno said. “We’ve practiced and he was fine, so I would think if he’s not 100 percent he’s awfully close. I think his stamina is getting better, I think he’s getting more confidence in how hard he can go for a longer period of time.”

“Each week I get back more and more into my routine,” Lee said. “This week was the most I’ve gotten to do since I was injured. … The more maturely you can handle (injuries), the better you can get through things.”

With that 12-tackle effort last week, Lee increased his career total to 288, moving ahead of two-time All-American Dennis Onkotz for fifth in Penn State’s record books.

That puts him 27 behind Brian Gelzheiser for fourth all-time – a mark Lee should be able to pass with four games including a bowl left to play.

Greg Buttle is third with 343, Posluszny has 372 for second and Connor is the record-holder with 419. By year’s end, the Lions’ 2006 team could have had three of its four top all-time tacklers on the field at the same time.

Assuming Lee can avoid any more injuries.

“I think he’s made good progress and I think our medical people and Sean oughta feel pretty good about the way things have gone,” Paterno said before wincing slightly, hoping he hadn’t inadvertently jinxed his captain. “Having said that, you always are scared to death because … He’s doing well. I oughta just keep my mouth shut after that.”